Chapter four
"Luke?" The Chancellor asked in confusion. He really had been neglecting the boy of late; he was not aware of any 'Luke' that was an acquaintance of Anakin's.
Sighing, Anakin launched into the story of how Obi-Wan found the young man, and that it was revealed that the Force had sent him 20 years into the past. Palpatine had remained carefully composed as Anakin spoke, not showing any emotion. His mind was in overdrive however; this certainly made things more...interesting.
If the boy is from the future, it is possible that he may know about me, if all that I have planned now goes according to plan. This is certainly...unfavourable. I must find out more.
"I distrust him, Chancellor. Our similarities are too coincidental; blonde, blue eyes, tanned skin—he's from Tatooine, hell he even likes blue milk! I like blue milk!" Anakin raked his hand through his hair, a frown marring his face.
Palpatine saw the opportunity and he grasped at it with both hands; "You are right to distrust him, Anakin. The Jedi are simplistic and will be blind to any deceptions...keep a close eye on him, and keep me informed." Linking his fingers together, Palpatine leaned towards the young man.
"Don't tell anyone else about what you're doing...they may see it differently than us." He smiled as Anakin nodded in understanding. Anakin stood up and graciously thanked the Chancellor for helping him.
Pausing outside the office door, Anakin wondered why the Force was telling him that he'd done the wrong thing in alerting the Chancellor to Luke's situation.
He's my trusted friend and mentor; of course I should have let him know. He frowned as he headed back towards the Jedi Temple—he could feel a headache developing already.
"Obi-Wan!" Luke called, spotting the strawberry blonde man as he walked by. Kenobi glanced up at hearing his name being called. He smiled as Luke trotted up to him, weaving his way through the crowd of other Jedi.
"Hello Luke," Obi-Wan scanned the surrounding area, "where's Anakin?" he asked sternly, already planning his reprimand for his former Padawan in his head. Luke shrugged casually as he fell into step with his once mentor.
He ached to spend some one on one time with Obi-Wan; to know what he was like before his Father fell to the Dark Side. The Ben he knew was a good actor; he hid his depression well but Luke had picked up on it. He was a shell of the man he once was before.
"Luke, are you any good at fixing things?" Obi-Wan asked conversationally. Luke smirked up at the older man. Obi-Wan was instantly reminded of Anakin's mischievous grin; a sense of déjà vu overcame him.
"Good would be an understatement! I'm great at fixing things!" Luke enthused.
"My shuttle is malfunctioning and for the life of me I can't figure out what's wrong. Usually I'd have Anakin fix it—I trust him more than the technicians—but since he's not around..." he let the sentence trail off.
"You can count on me." Luke mock saluted and followed Kenobi into the hangar bay.
By the time Anakin had arrived back at the Temple, it was in the late afternoon. He had spent the rest of the day at Padme's apartment and it had been a welcome respite from the stress of being the Chosen One.
He wandered the halls aimlessly, allowing his feet to take him where they pleased; as of late, his thoughts would always drift towards Luke. Anakin couldn't understand what the Force wanted him to see. There was no doubt that they shared a connection—and he was pretty sure they both knew it.
Pulling himself from his thoughts, he realised he was in the hangar bay. Walking in, he waved to the few technicians who were milling about and then stopped short; he spied Obi-Wan sitting on a high stool, his strawberry blonde hair mussed. His sleeves were rolled up to the elbow and a thin sheen of sweat was on his face.
"What are you doing?" Anakin called out, a bemused smile on his face. He strode over to his side.
"Luke's trying to give me a lesson or two on how to fix the engine...but it's far too complex for me to be dealing with..." Kenobi fanned at his face a tried to smooth his hair back into place.
"—and now I'm done! Come and inspect the handiwork." Luke wiped his hands with a cloth and proudly stepped to the side. "I even tweaked it for you a bit!"
"It seems that Luke shares your passion for fixing things and flying. We got to know each other a bit whilst you were away doing Force knows what." Obi-Wan sternly glared at Anakin.
"I was speaking to the Chancellor; I trust Luke didn't get into any trouble?" Anakin winked at Luke whilst Obi-Wan rolled his eyes. "Alright, let me see what you've done." Anakin had to admit that he was impressed with the youth's work.
Luke watched with baited breath as his Father inspected his handiwork; he wanted him to be proud of him, or impressed at his skill. He hadn't known that he also liked to fix things; it had never come to mind when he thought of Vader.
But Father isn't Vader yet. He reminded himself.
"You may be good with fixing things, but how good are you with a Lightsaber?" Anakin asked smugly, crossing his arms. Luke could recognise the glint of a challenge in Anakin's eyes; he shrugged casually.
"I've fought against a Sith Lord so...I think I'm pretty good." Luke enjoyed the expressions on Obi-Wan and Anakin's faces as he said that.
"Seriously? And you killed him?" Anakin asked; he was definitely more impressed and itching to test his technique against Luke.
"Well...no, I didn't want to. He cut off my right hand though—it's a long story." Luke was suddenly uncomfortable talking about it considering his Father was standing right in front of him.
Anakin brought Luke's hand up to his face, the latter of the two blushed profusely as his hand was studied.
"It's prosthetic? I would never have guessed...the synthetic skin is so realistic!" Anakin sent Luke a genuine smile; "I can't wait to get one of those in the future!" Luke made a strangled noise of agreement as his Father spoke animatedly about the future.
Tuning out, Luke despaired at his situation; thrust into the past to change it, yet he had no idea how! A multitude of ideas and half formed plans rushed through his head, but each one had weak points, and some were downright implausible.
Stop him from turning to the Dark Side; you have to stop him Skywalker. He nodded to himself; the conviction that he could do it strengthened his resolve. Gain his trust.
"So, about this sparring match?" He asked casually, leaning against Obi-Wan's shuttle. Anakin grinned boyishly in reply to Luke's statement.
"Tomorrow at noon, we'll see how good you really are." Anakin winked playfully at the younger man. Kenobi rolled his eyes; Luke was like a mini-clone of Anakin. Eyes narrowing, Obi-Wan observed Luke, not hearing his and Anakin's banter.
The similarities are striking, and their interests...do I sense a bit of foul play here? He's not telling us something. Obi-Wan huffed to himself, annoyed that he was missing some vital clue.
"I'm going to bed now." Anakin declared, yawning softly. "You should sleep; you're going to need it for tomorrow." Smirking, Anakin dodged the hydro-spanner that Luke had half-heartedly thrown at him.
Luke turned and smiled kindly at Obi-Wan, "I'm going too; it was great spending time with you, honestly." Obi-Wan could hear the sincerity behind the words. He gazed into his blue eyes, noting they were the exact unique shade as Anakin's.
Kenobi cleared his throat as he stood up, popping his back as he did so.
"It was a pleasure to spend time with you too. You two go on ahead, I have a meeting with the Council." The two Skywalker's waved goodbye to Obi-Wan as he purposefully strode off.
"Are you...close...with the Chancellor?" Luke asked perhaps a bit too casually. Anakin stared him long and hard before he answered carefully.
"He has been my trusted friend and mentor ever since I was nine." He explained quietly, gauging Luke's reaction; he didn't miss the way Luke's jaw clenched, or the way a dark shadow seemed to pass over his face.
An unasked question was on the tip of his tongue, but they had reached their respective bedroom doors.
"I'll see you tomorrow; I hope you don't mind losing." Luke quipped, shaking himself out of his anger. Anakin raised an eyebrow as a competitive smile graced his lips.
"We'll see, we'll see." He cryptically said, waving goodnight as he shut his door. Luke was left standing in an empty corridor, an empty feeling in his chest. He stared at Anakin's bedroom before he silently entered his own.